Grill covers and grill liners of various types have long been used to protect various components of the grill. These grill liners typically have one of two functions. One group of liners is designed to protect the bottom or bottom and sides of the interior of the grill from dirt, grease and the like so to maintain the cleanliness of the interior body of the grill. These grill liners are generally positioned in the base of the grill. The second group of liners is designed to protect or cover the metal wire rack to keep the rack clean and/or to maintain a sanitary cooking environment. These types of liners are generally placed on the surface of the metal wire rack.
Two types of grill liners that are designed to protect the bottom and/or sides of the grill are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,280 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 374,378. Both of these liners are preformed circular liners designed to fit into the bottom of certain types of circular grills. The grill liner disclosed in the design patent only protects the bottom of the grill, whereas the grill liner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,280 protects both the bottom and sides of the grill.
Several types of grill liners that are designed to protect the metal wire rack of the grill by placing a material over the top of the metal wire rack surface are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,555,994; 3,613,555; 4,763,639; 4,969,449; 4,979,440; 5,399,439; 5,447,097; and 5,586,491. All of these grill liners include one or more openings to allow heat from the bottom of the grill to penetrate through the openings in order to cook the food on the surface of the liner.
Although the grill liners that are designed to be placed over the metal wire rack cooking surface protect the wire rack surface from dirt and grease, the grease is able to pass through the perforations in the grill liners and cake onto the interior surfaces of the grill. The grill liners which have heretofor been designed to be placed in the bottom of the grill are designed to conform to specific grill configurations, thus they cannot be used for different sized and configured grills. As a result, there is a need for a grill liner which can be used in a wide variety of grills and which protects the interior bottom and side grill surfaces from dirt, drippings, grease, soot and other undesirable materials from caking and/or adhering to the interior bottom and side surfaces of the grill.